


Images of Yesterday

by Victorious56



Series: Qrowtober 2020 [3]
Category: RWBY
Genre: Established Relationship, M/M, Memories, Nostalgia, Qrowtober (RWBY)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-08
Updated: 2020-10-08
Packaged: 2021-03-07 17:21:41
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,005
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26861329
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Victorious56/pseuds/Victorious56
Summary: Taiyang has accumulated an attic full of memories stretching back many years. Some of them are inconsequential. Others, Qrow realises, mean so much more.
Relationships: Qrow Branwen/Taiyang Xiao Long
Series: Qrowtober 2020 [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1948003
Comments: 4
Kudos: 14





	Images of Yesterday

**Author's Note:**

> Written for Qrowtober 2020 Day 8: Photos

"Are you certain you want to do this, Tai?" Qrow pushed his fringe back from his forehead, leaving a dirty smear of dust. "You've got so much crap."

" _We've_ got so much crap." Tai collapsed onto the floor. "Well, I guess most of it is mine, to be fair."

They were crouched in the attic, attempting to sort through a lifetime of accumulated memories. Or crap, as Qrow saw it.

"Do you actually ever throw anything away? Or even take it to the charity shop?" Qrow delved deeper into the crate, plucking out dismembered soft toys and throwing them at his husband.

"Qrow! These hold great sentimental value." Tai picked up a toy leopard, the head of which was almost severed from its body. Bits of stuffing fell onto his lap. "This was... Yang's? Maybe Ruby's. Or it might have been mine." He stroked his chin thoughtfully.

"Yeah, it holds such memories, obviously." Qrow smirked, as he pulled out another dusty object. It was a small book with a plain blue cover. "What's this, then?"

Qrow opened the cover, realised the book was upside down, and turned it over. "It's an old photo album..."

"Let's see." Tai held out a hand, Qrow completely ignoring him as he stared at the first few pages. He looked up. "These are old, Tai. I don't think I've seen some of them before." He crawled over to sit beside the other man, passing the album to him.

Tai brushed the dust from the cover of the album. He hesitated before opening it, glancing at Qrow before doing so.

The first page showed a young man, untidy blond hair competing for brilliance with his smile. Qrow grinned. "That's you! What a handsome guy." He pinched Tai's cheek, before snuggling a little closer. "You were gorgeous. Still are, of course," he added hastily. "Your hair was so fair in those days. It dazzled me."

"Really?" Tai sat a bit taller, puffing his chest out. "Do I still?"

"Taiyang, you are a terror." Qrow leant in and kissed him on the cheek. "You know you do. Every day." His voice softened as he stroked Tai's arm. "Back then, though... when was this taken?"

"Just before I left home for Beacon." Tai stared at his younger self.

"I'd never seen anything—anyone—as bright as you." Qrow's voice was reflective, as if recalling thoughts long forgotten. "Living in the tribe, well—" he laughed without humour. "Everything was brown, or grey, just dull. It had to be, I suppose. And then, I saw you... it was like the sun had finally risen." He heard a sniffling noise beside him.

"Qrow, that's... beautiful. Almost poetic." Tai rubbed at his face.

"It's all true. You know I don't make crap like that up. You were just golden, Tai. I wanted to bask in you, to feel your light, your warmth. Oh, for Dust's sake." Qrow turned his face and blotted it against his sleeve. "Look what you've done, you idiot."

Tai rested the album in his lap, taking Qrow's hand in his. "I never realised you felt that way, right back at the start."

"Well, I didn't either. I mean, everything was so different, and I just... I thought the way I felt was because it was all so— alien to me. It took me a while to adjust, you know."

"Hmph, you hid it well. I can remember this cocky bastard who took every opportunity to wind me up. Although he did have gorgeous hair, and a very inviting grin."

"Who was that, then?"

Tai spluttered. "It was you, you complete— oh, very funny, you got me again."

Qrow poked him in the ribs. "You're so easy, Tai. Still."

Tai turned the page. The four faces looking up at them, confident and assured, seemed to belong to another set of people entirely.

"Brothers, we were young. And did I _ever_ smile in photos? I look like a miserable git."

"I think you were going for mean, moody, and magnificent. Which you pretty much were." Tai pressed his leg against Qrow's. "And Raven's smiling! Must have caught her on a good day."

"Hmph, there weren't too many of those with her. Look at you! Those _come to bed_ eyes working overtime there."

"I never... actually, now you mention it..." Tai studied the photo more closely. "Yeah, definitely a _come hither_ look."

Qrow turned his head, studying Tai's profile. "It's odd, when you think about it."

"I don't, often." Tai was still admiring his youthful, alluring image.

"We all know _that_ , you duffer. No, what I mean is this. If I'd realised back then, what was going on with me... if I had gone hither, to you I mean..." Qrow traced the fourth person in the photo with a gentle finger. "Then you and Raven wouldn't have got together, maybe. And there'd be no Yang. And then you and Summer... and there'd be no Ruby. So," Qrow concluded. "Lucky I resisted your charms, wasn't it? I sometimes think about the years we might have had, but then I look at the kids..."

"Not really kids anymore, though, are they? We're getting old, Qrow."

Qrow closed the album. "Look at me, Tai."

Puzzled, Tai looked into the soft red eyes of the other man.

"You've still got it, dragon boy." Qrow leaned forward, his mouth finding Tai's in a warm kiss. "Let's leave the rest of this till later, shall we?"

"I dunno, Qrow, we should really—" Tai broke off when he saw the look on Qrow's face. "Oh. Right. I get you." He blushed, grinning.

"It's a slow journey sometimes, but the destination's always worth it. Come on, husband." Qrow scrambled to the ladder and climbed down. As Tai followed him, Qrow resisted the urge to slide his hands up the legs of his shorts. The last time he'd done that, Tai had fallen on him, and Qrow had broken a rib.

They headed to the bedroom, the memories stirred by the photos set aside, for now.

**Author's Note:**

> Friendly comments always appreciated, thank you.
> 
> The idea for this came from this RWBY image:
> 
>   
> 


End file.
